With
precision born from
years of navigating with a sextant and chronometer,
the home-brew would
be ready on the night
of the Democratic Steering
Committee hootenanny
party. My Grandpa (we
called him Johnny) always
said that lubrication
was essential to keep
whatever kind of machine
one needed running smoothly.
Getting people to talk
was easy. Getting them
to act on what was said
was the tricky part.

In
the very early ‘50s,
Del Mar was still under
the county’s
thumb, relying on it
for all services. Yet
there were many problems.
Maintenance of infrastructure
was neglected. Accountability
was not a priority.
The seeds of incorporation
were planted, tended
and modified in our
living room and out
on the porch of my home
on 20th St.
The
founding fathers of
our nation would have
been proud of the men
and women who met here.
Taxation without representation
was what led the push
for incorporation.
And, I have heard that
the home-brew rivaled
that of Sam Adams and
his brew masters on
the other coast.

Having
been a commander
in
the U.S. Navy, Johnny
had a knack for getting
people organized.
He
was not one to bark
orders. Instead he
instilled in people
the ability to make
responsible decisions.
He hated saluting;
instead he worked
to maintain respect
for all the people,
encouraging through
example. His working
class roots were planted
in the blue-collar
neighborhoods
of Detroit where
he
witnessed the union
building of longshoreman
and sailors on the
Detroit River.

John
Barr with his
grandson Gus Kriege
on the beach at
20th Street in
July,1959. Photo
courtesy
of Gus Kriege

His
first job was rowing
his small skiff loaded
with the daily paper
out to the swiftly
moving ore freighters
that plied the Great
Lakes. They were making
6 to 8 knots and would
not slow down, merely
throwing a ladder over
the side where the
first skiff to reach
them would quickly
tie on, and the young
boy would
climb up with a stack
of papers, get a handful
of coins and quickly
climb back down, untie,
and row back to shore
to await the next ship.
Hazardous working conditions
to say the least, all
for a few cents and
some major calluses
from leanin’ on
the oars.

Anyway,
if you’re
strolling around and
see Sand Barr Lane,
now you’ll
know Barr is my Grandpa,
he was a proud member
of the first city council,
and he was the second
mayor of our soulful
little city. As he was
fond of saying as a
toast, “Fair
weather” right
before he launched into
that famous limerick, “There
once was a lady from
Nantucket…

First
DM City Council
sworn in by Bud
James, from left
to right: Henry
Billings, Tom
Douglas, John
Barr,
Clayton Jack
and Elwood Free.
Photo: Courtesy
Del
Mar
Historical
Society